Tom Susman

Tom Susman joined the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in March 2018 as Deputy Director, Risk Intelligence in Global Security. His team is responsible for providing strategic risk analysis on security threats that might affect foundation travelers and operations around the global. His team also is responsible for overseeing the provision of operational security support in the foundation’s overseas offices and overseeing a robust security program for the foundation’s global conferences and other events.

Prior to joining the foundation, Tom had a 12-year career at the Central Intelligence Agency, working on broad ranges of global issues. In his last position, Tom managed a large group of analysts responsible for informing senior US policymakers of terrorism threats in Europe, Africa, Asia and the Western Hemisphere. Prior to that, Tom was a senior intelligence briefer in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for briefing the President’s Daily Brief to the President’s Chief of Staff, and for ensuring the President and his senior staff received intelligence support on all presidential travel. Tom’s other assignments at CIA included rotations serving on the National Security Council Staff at the White House, leading analysts responsible for all-source analysis of security trends in Africa, and analytic roles covering terrorism topics and political trends in East Africa.

Tom is the recipient of multiple Exceptional Performance Awards recognizing his achievements in leading analytic programs, mentoring staff, and analytic expertise. He received his Master of Public Policy from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts from Kenyon College in Political Science and Molecular Biology.